Lent W
by
Donnie Jay
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
Many people give up eating meat for lent, so today’s column will be devoted to some seafood and meatless main dishes. Most of these recipes are from the New Orleans Seafood Cookbook, which I was instrumental in creating while working at Andrew Jaeger's House of Seafood, when it was located on Conti Street. I have since retired from the restaurant business but Andrew has reopened his House of Seafood at a new location at 300 Decatur Street. The food is still great as the menu keeps evolving. Stop by say hello and tell them Donnie sent you.
We’ll begin with a couple of soups. One hot and one cold, the Gazpacho can be vegetarian by omitting the seafood.
SHRIMP GAZPACHO
1 cup small (50-60 count) shrimp, peeled and cooked
1 green pepper, seeded and diced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 rib of celery diced
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
4 1/2 cups V-8 juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cucumbers, peeled seeded and diced
Salt and black pepper to taste
Combine all the ingredients except the cucumbers in a saucepan. Season with the salt and pepper to taste. Bring it all to a simmer over medium heat, and then immediately remove from heat. Refrigerate in a tightly sealed container for at least twelve hours. Stir in the cold cucumbers and serve.
SEAFOOD AND CORN CHOWDER
2 cups celery, diced
2 cups onions, diced
1/2 cup butter
4 cups fresh corn kernels, scrapped from the cob
3 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
1 pound fresh seafood (crab, shrimp, crawfish firm fish in any combination or
alone)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 cups chicken stock
2 quarts milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sherry Salt Ground white pepper
WHITE WASH
1 egg
2 cups water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
In a medium pot, sauté the celery and onion in the butter until opaque. Add the corn, potatoes, seafood, and parsley and chicken stock; increase the heat and boil until the potatoes are tender, about ten minutes. Add the milk, cream, sherry and, salt and pepper to taste, lower heat and bring to a simmer.
Meanwhile in a small bowl beat the whisk the ingredients together for the white wash till smooth. Blend the white wash into the chowder and continue cooking on low heat until thickened and no flour taste remains, about ten more minutes. Serve hot. Makes six to eight servings.
The following pie makes a great appetizer or served in larger slices a fabulous entrée.
OYSTER SPINACH PIE
TOPPING
3/4 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1/2 cup Romano cheese, grated
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
To prepare the topping, combine all ingredients in a bowl. Cut together with a knife till a streusel like topping is formed. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
FILLING
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room, temperature
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1/4 cup bell peppers, chopped
1 1/2 dozen oysters
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup milk
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 teaspoon Tabasco
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
2 eggs beaten
1 (10") unbaked pie shell
To make the filling; melt the butter in a large pan, add onion, celery and green peppers and sauté over medium-high heat for five to six minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add the oysters, salt, pepper, cream and milk and continue cooking, stirring for three minutes, just until the oysters curl. Blend in the cream cheese and Tabasco with a wooden spoon, followed by the spinach, cheese and eggs.
Pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell and bake about twenty-five minutes. Remove pie from the oven and sprinkle with the topping. Return to the oven and bake about thirty more minutes til the pie is set and the top is golden brown. Cool slightly before cutting. Makes eight appetizers or four to six main dishes.
BARBEQUED OYSTERS
SAUCE
1/4 cup Crystal hot sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup loosely packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon lemon zest
It is best if you have time to make the sauce a day before to allow the citrus flavors to permeate and expand their flavor. When ready to use reheat it. This sauce is also great on deep fried shrimp.
Vegetable oil for deep-frying the oysters.
COATING
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Sift or blend all the ingredients together.
24 Oysters (I serve six as an appetizer portion.)
1 head iceberg lettuce, shredded (Divide this equally on four plates and keep
refrigerated til your ready to dish up the appetizer.)
Heat the oil to 350 degrees in a pan deep enough to cover the oysters completely. Dredge the oysters in the breading mixture and fry till golden and crispy. Drain on paper towels to remove excess grease. Toss the oysters in the heated sauce and place atop the shredded lettuce. Serve with a lemon wedge.
ASPARGUS TROUT ROLL-UPS WITH LEMON-CREAM SAUCE
The lemon-cream sauce in this recipe really brings out the simple fresh taste of the main ingredients.
4 (6 to 8 ounce) speckled trout
Salt
Ground black pepper
24 spears fresh asparagus, trimmed and blanched
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Season the trout fillets with salt and pepper to taste. Place six asparagus spears across each fillet and roll up pinwheel fashion. Wrap each roll tightly with plastic wrap, fold over ends to make a complete seat. Drop in a pan with enough rapidly boiling water to cover the packets. Poach for five to seven minutes til the fish is white and firm. To make the sauce combine the remaining ingredients in a sauce pan and reduce by fifty percent over medium high heat. To serve, unwrap the fillets and place each one in the center of a plate discarding the plastic wrap, pour one fourth of the sauce over each fillet and serve hot.
Well my little ones, time once again has run out on your Auntie Dee, much like all of her past husbands. Of course, they didn’t split because of their meals as most of them left carrying a little more weight than when they arrived with, but alas living with a diva of my caliber is rather time consuming and expensive. Until next time when I will have more of our seafood and vegetarian delights, take care of yourselves and remember "Protect your hearts as you would your other vital organs.
You may contact me at donniejay@hotmail.com. If you have any questions or requests for a special recipe I will be happy to respond via e-mail or in a future column.
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